Birthday Winners & More : )

Hey, guess what!?  I am going to a sewing retreat tomorrow!  Woohoo!  I can't wait.  Lots of people from our guild will be there.  It's a last minute thing.  My husband is gone for Mother's Day so this will be a real treat.  SewFun Retreats run at a Cedar Lodge overlooking Blackstrap Lake for four days.  I'm just going for Sunday and it's only $25 for drop in for the whole day.  Check it out - it's only 15 minutes from my home.

this photo is from the CEDAR LODGE website

Unfortunately, the last day ends at 4pm, but I plan to go for a run out there afterward and take some photos while I'm out there.  I will post all about it on Monday.  : )

I bet you are all wondering who the winners are for all the prizes!?  There sure were a lot of entires!  My 'random number generator' this time around was my husband.

the winner of all this fine fabric from Periwinkle is... mlafayette!  (entry #80)

The $20 Sew & Home gift certificate goes to Verna G. Congratulations!

The $20 Creative House gift certificate is Jeane.  Hooray!

And the marking chalk & tape from Creative House goes to the one and only, Grandma Coco!

Thank you everyone for joining in on the party.  Please email me with your contact information and I will send off your items to you some time this week.  Sound good?  My email is:  MySweetPrairie@gmail.com

Have a great weekend!
Remember, April showers bring May flowers.  It's really true.
~Monika

More Blog-day Fun for YOU!

Happy Blog Day week!  I'm having fun.  Are you?  Here we go with another give-away.  This one is courtesy of Andrea at Creative House Sewing Center in Saskatoon.  This store has a good selection of threads, they carry & service Janome and Elna machines, and they have an embroidery service as well.  When I was in there last, someone was there to pick up lab coats.  In the back of the shop, they put logos on caps & clothing, etc too.  They also carry some fabric & batting, along with sewing accessories.

I found this lovely photo on their website.  http://www.stitch.ca

Isn't that a pretty place!?  I took a machine maintenance class from Lyle (the machine technician) a few years ago and it was the best!  He really knows his stuff.

There are 2 giveaways with this one!

#1.  Creative House Sewing Center has given a $20 gift certificate that I will give to local entries only.   If you live in a nearby town and come to Saskatoon, just let me know that.

$20.oo in-store Gift Certificate 

 for Creative House

#2.  Merchandise is up for grabs for people outside of Saskatoon.  Andrea has also given a Dritz Quilting Chalk Cartridge set!  This comes with a sharpener and includes 8 white & 8 colored chalk refills.  She has also included a roll of Marathon Incredible Tape. This prize pack if for people who won't ever be in Saskatoon.  I will mail this one out.

for marking any color of fabric

for keeping threads from unraveling off the spools

Those are some pretty cool prizes.  THANK YOU ANDREA!  So, here's what you do to enter.  Tell me where you are from so I know which draw to enter you in.  While you are at it, tell me your favorite color.  : )

That's it.  That's all.  That's easy.  The gift certificate and the merchandise package winners will be drawn for on Friday at midnight.  I'll announce the winners in Saturday's April 30th post.  Good Luck!

~Monika

Things I Love Thursdays

I love this mermaid fabric from Felicity.  

(THANK YOU FELICITY!!)

I love painted eggs!!

I love the buds that are just barely beginning to pop, 

and I love them against this sunset. : )

 I love this orange dresden quilt SO much, that I took it out of my Etsy store 

and I'm keeping it for myself!  ; )

I love April/May!  There's a new season, three generations of birthday parties, my wedding anniversary, Mother's day, and three thunderstorms in 48 hours.  What could make my life better?  : )

I'm off to celebrate, but there will be more give-aways tomorrow!!

 ~Monika

Works in Progress Wednesday

Hello!  The birthday give-aways are only half through, but I'm taking today to catch up on posting what I'm working on.  Well I have to show you some more details to Mandy's Magical Tree.  Come look at the sparkle in the sky!

Those little beads are all stitched on, in a SWOOSH behind the two stars that were made from the tops of her boys' booties.  ; )  I also fished the edges of this wall hanging in a pillow-case finish.  I like it because it didn't add more bling to this piece.

I LIKE IT!  : )

I put the border on Jesica's quilt and it's awating some stitches.  I have yet to think about what I'm doing with that.  hmmm.  Maybe some hand embroidery.

I made the binding for the wonky owl quilt.  I actually finished quilting it about half way, and I realize that I've completely ruined the look of it.  Now what?  I had better sharpen that seam ripper.  It's bad.  I mean it's horrible.  The stitches are great and smooth and even, but it just overpowers the clean lines of the quilt.  Ugh.  Good thing Anno isn't due until November!!  :(

And I put in all the little fence posts onto Kate's piece.  Now I'm planning for the poles to be couched on.

The FUNNY thing is, a woman at guild asked me about my Telephone Poles piece.  She said, "There are no telephone poles along Highway 7.  Those are power lines."  HAHA  (Ooops!)  I smiled and told her, "Then I'll have to change the name of that piece like I did with The Wheat Field.  I renamed that one, The Oat Field".  Hehehe!  That generated some laughter!  To my defense, my parents weren't farmers.  We only had chickens, vegetables, raspberries, and a half acre of wild gophers.  I thought all golden fields were wheat.  Oh well.  You live and you learn, right?  So with my summer study of skies, I will also study fields and learn to identify rye, oats, barley, wheat, etc... 

Well there you have it.  Thanks for stopping by.  Head on over to Lee's at Freshly Pieced to see what other quilt bloggers are up to.  Check out all my posts for the week!  Draws for all the give-aways will be posted on Saturday.  More to come! 

Have a great week,
~Monika

Another Give-Away for You!

I realize it's 'Tips on Tuesdays' today, but for this week I'm going to skip it.  Why?  It's My Sweet Prairie's birthday, and I have another giveaway!  This one is from Sew & Home.  Last fall, I taught a PostCard class at Sew & Home in Saskatoon.  (Click their name to link to all their services.)

They are unique store.  The "Sew" side of the business includes Janome sewing machines & accessories,  Eric the technician with his beautiful old black lab who is always by his side, as well as a huge lot of classes taught by some pretty amazing people.  The classes range from summer kids' sewing instruction to bra making to free motion classes for quilters.  Sew & Home is in downtown Saskatoon, and they have generously offered a $20 gift certificate for me to give away.  This gift certificate can be used for merchandise or classes, and has no expiry date.  Isn't that sweet!?

$20.oo in-store Gift Certificate 

from Sew & Home !

Thank you Lynn & Dawn @ Sew & Home!  

The "Home" side of the business is really unique.  They house high-end home decor and custom designer furnishings from art to chandeliers to furniture to rugs.  There are a lot off mirrors and glass in there, and I tend to only go in there when I don't have my kids with me.  : )  It's extreme-trendy right down to the designer wall paper they sell.  They are involved in upstaging homes for sale on the real estate market.  You could also use your gift certificate on the non-sewing items of course.  I personally have my eye on the smooth stone shower mat.  I just think that would feel so good!  : )

The contest rules:  This gift is appropriate for people who can get to the store in Saskatoon, or for people who would re-gift it to someone locally.  Please do not enter if you are not able to use this gift certificate.  I worry that it wouldn't get used.  Fear not, I have more give-aways all week.

To enter this draw, I have a challenge for you.

You have to guess the age that I will be 

on my next birthday.  

my good side.

My birthday is next week.  You can have one entry for each age you guess but you can't guess the same number more than once.  How's that!?  Put each guess in the comments section.  So if you guess three different ages, make sure to make that three separate comments, okay?  Make as many guesses as you want!  I will pick a random winner FROM THE GUESSES THAT ARE CORRECT WITHIN 2 YEARS EITHER WAY ONLY by midnight on Friday and post the recipient's name on Saturday April 30.  If you already know my age, you can enter, but you must not say that you know the truth in the post.  Keep it a secret okay?  Good luck!  And please don't worry about insulting me.  : )

~Monika

Happy BlogDay Give-away #1

Guess what!?  I asked Michelle from Periwinkle Quilting & Beyond if she would sponsor a giveaway, and she said yes!  Other bloggers do this kind of thing.  I'm new to it, and I thought I would approach local businesses for my birthday week.  Michelle generously offered six fat quarters!!!  That was easy.  Picking them out was not.  ; )  There is a lot to chose from in there.  FREE FABRIC!  I hope you like what I picked out for you.  I took one look and saw spring when I saw this new line.  It's called "Sunkissed" by Sweetwater for Moda.  (Deb at the store told me to say all that.) 

click to view these larger

I love the grey in it.  I really love the text too!  See the two on the right end?  One is script, one is type.  Here's another look at the pink quarter.  And p.s.  These are quarter meters, not quarter yards.  So they are bigger.  20x22".  That will give you four extra squares if you are cutting charms.  (Our beer is stronger in Canada too.)  It's all good.  It's probably compensation for having such harsh winters. 

click on the photo to take a closer look

If you don't win, and just have to have this fabric, you can find Periwinkle in Saskatoon on 8th Street East.  I'll pick a random winner midnight on Friday, to be announced on Saturday April 30th.  You can make one entry in each of these ways:

#1.  Just say happy birthday (in any language) and leave your name down in the comments section at the bottom of this post.  That's one entry.

#2.  Become a follower of my blogposts by clicking "follow", and let me know in the comments section below.  That's another entry.  If you already follow, then state that.  If you are following on The Hive, then please come to my blogspot page to "follow" and leave your entry here.  I don't want to miss all of you!

#3. Become a facebook fan by clicking "like" to the My Sweet Prairie page.  If you are linked via facebook, then you'll get my blogposts automatically on your homepage.  I won't be able to access your page FYI.  Anyhoo, do that and let me know in the comments section below.  That will count as another entry.

Okay, well there you go!  Check back on Saturday to see if you the lucky one.  And THANK YOU Michelle!  Here is a link to Michelle's blog.  Here is a link to her shop's website.

See you tomorrow : )

~Monika

There's a Party and YOU are invited!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's My Sweet Prairie's birthday!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yup!  I've been one year in blogland.  What an adventure.  It's really moved me forward in my creativity.  You've all made it so worthwhile.  It's because of your feedback that I have so much courage.  I know I've said it before,  but it's true.  Reading your comments each day makes it all worthwhile.  When I go back to read my first post, I was terrified to blog!  (Who on earth would notice?)  Between here, Facebook, and the Hive, nearly 300 of you signed up to follow me.  In one year, this blog has had nearly 40,000 hits.  That is shocking, or as my boys would say, EPIC!

So this week, the blog is all for you.  I have contests, prizes, and a some challenges too.  I'm kicking things off with a song.   I know, it's kind of hokey.  I heard this on the radio the other day and I think it's perfect.  It's like a mixed tape for the one you love.  This is only one song from me to you.  I hope you enjoy!

CLICK to go to the Youtube Video

Check back often to see what things I have up my sleeve.  In the mean time, here are my Sunday Snapshots as always.  I took these earlier in the week just 2 minutes south of the city.  I'm inspired now to spend a week just experimenting with sky and fibre.  

waiting for it...  I love the grand view & the barbed wire.

Here it comes... what's not to love!?

the same sky three minutes later.  : )

Happy Sunday!
Thanks everyone for the congratulations on the article in Saskatoon Sun.  Pretty overwhelming.  : )

~Monika

The Gentle Giants

I grew up on an acreage across the gravel road from a grain elevator.  That elevator was everything.  It was right out our window.  Silent, still, huge.  I remember passing small towns on the highway.  They all had them.  The town or village name was displayed proudly on these giant icons so you always knew where you were.  My parents were not grain farmers, but there's something terribly nostalgic about these massive silhouettes all over the prairies.  I knew they were becoming a thing of the past, but when I read that out of 3,240 Saskatchewan grain elevators, only SIXTY are left, I got all choked up.  Okay - I actually cried!  You might be laughing at me, but I challenge you to go through photo archives on the internet and not get goosebumps when you look at the haunting photos of these beasts all abandoned and decaying.  I remember when my parents put me up on the kitchen counter one night so I could see out the window.  Our Big Giant was on fire and burning to the ground.  THAT was a huge fire, let me tell you.

Hamlin, Saskatchewan, 1977

You can guess what I'm going to try to do this summer.  I need photos.  Road trips, here I come!  I'm not the only one nostalgic for them.  A Needle Pulling Thread's current magazine has a fabulous article on the Heritage Rug Hookers of Saskatoon along with two dozen photos of their gorgeous works of art, each featuring a grain elevator in a prairie scene.  Yep - rugs as art.  You would have to see it to believe it.  Those women have made some gorgeous pieces!  They are currently on exhibit in galleries.

So what's my point?  Well, remember this piece I made?

It's quilted and finished.  Mom said, "stick a tree in it!".  I had thought it needed an elevator in it.  After looking through all those photos, I did it.  Now, it's done, and just how I want it.  ; )

Prairie Sunrise. 

There.  It's just how I remember it. 

still a work in progress...

~Monika

I Can't Believe My Ears!

Oh what a fabulous day!!  It's really spring.  We can finally leave all the windows open and hear the huge variety of birds singing outside in the trees.  I don't know about you, but hearing birds chirp puts me in such good spirits!  Speaking of trees, I will now show you the whole front of Mandy's wall hanging.  I really think the tree is done.  I have just started a very pretty splash of dark seed beads up in that sky and it's like throwing magic into the air.  (Beads not in the photo yet...)

holding my breath... Mandy hasn't seen a full shot of this yet!

In case you are confused about the images, the setting sun represents father (fabric from a wrap), the silk moon is mother (from a mei tei carrier), and the two stars are the boys (from a pair or woven booties).  The sky is made of two baby carries.  The lightest leaves are also from a stretchy wrap.  It's been SLOOOOW going on my part, but I think it's turning out really good.  This one had a lot of contemplation time.   

I really made some progress on Kate's wall hanging yesterday.  It has a lot of detailing that I'm so very happy with.  I like to pull viewers in.  So here is the large remake of "Telephone Poles on Highway 7", minus the telephone poles.  ; )

original on the wall, photo on the laptop, commission on the table

after hours of stitching... work in progress.

the details

And as I'm working away, I had a great idea for Jesica's quilt.  The centre is a gradation of colored half square triangles alternating with white ones.  The lower left is black, which moves like a rainbow until the top right corner is white.  It will be bordered with wide white.  Then I'll do another border of a single row of HSTs so that the color scheme is reversed.  This way it will balance the whole look of the quilt.  In the wide white border, I'll free motion stitch some symbols that remind Jesica of her grandmother.  I may just do that in white.  But that's a ways off right now.  I have time to think about it. 

And to all you who comment/follow on my blog... PROMISE me you'll come back on Sunday.  I have a very special surprise for YOU.  : )

~Monika
still listening to the birds sing.

Things I Love Thursdays

I love sunshine, blue skies, and big FAT clouds.

I love photographing the sun.

I love the silhouette of this bird.  She was SO loud!

And this kite...  you know I love this kite.  (You can click on it to see it bigger.)

And I LOVE the build up of thunderclouds.  

Always have.

Always will.

~Monika

Works in Progress Wednesday

Thanks to those of you who joined in on yesterday's Tips on Tuesdays post.  It was much quieter than usual.  Feel free to add your "Spring Cleaning" tips any time during the week.  (Am I the only one cleaning my sewing room?)  lol  In the mean time, I'm slowly regaining my mess.  Here's where I'm at right now.  First, Jesica's top is put together.  It's made from her beloved late grandmother's stash.  It will have a wide white border with hand embroidery and perhaps applique too!

And Mandy's tree... that I wasn't happy with.  It's made from the fabric of her babies' slings and carriers.  But the beige just didn't cut it, and along came this perfect fabric from Sandy in Alberta (the accu-cutter for hire).  I asked her for more and she was kind enough to send some my way.  I put it on the tree roughly and stitched it on like raw-edge applique.  It's better looking now, and it contrasts well with that sunset behind it.  (Mandy wasn't a shy baby-wearer was she!?  : )

Because this piece is already quite busy, I'm choosing to use very subtle embellishments.  I'll put some teeny fuscia and navy glass beads in the upper night sky where it's fuscia and navy background.  I'll do a bit more glow to the sun down in the horizon and then the edges & hanging sleeve and then (FINGERS CROSSED) Mandy can have this back before Mother's Day.  I seriously need to give myself a deadline on this one.  After this I need to be much more disciplined with doing one project at a time.  Okay... well maybe 2.  : )

My friend Anno is coming back to Saskatoon for a visit soon.  She's wanting this quilt and is due with #4 in the fall.  I'm not sure I'll have it done for when she gets here.  But apparently, she's claimed it.  : )  Her husband is a pastor and this quilt is made with re-purposed choir gowns.  That is kind of a funny serendipity isn't it?  lol

i have the PERFECT variegated thread to quilt this one with!!

I have Kate's sky finished and am working on the fields now.  Kate found me on Etsy.  I'll post pics after I get more done on it.  Mandy has to get her tree, but Kate's "Telephone Poles Along Highway 7" wall hanging will be done before mid May as well.  Then it's prairie prairie prairie art for the show at the end of May.  I can't wait!

One other thing I've been working on is blogging!  I spent all afternoon writing posts.  Next week is my blog's ONE YEAR anniversary and I have everything ready to go.  Keep watching!  I have a number of give-aways just for you - Gift certificates, fabric, notions... Oh yeah!

See you then!
~Monika

P.S. Go head over to Lee's at Freshly Pieced to see what other quilt bloggers are up to.

Tips on Tuesdays! -> Spring Cleaning

Welcome to tips on Tuesdays!!  This is a sharing post, so please leave your ideas in the comments section below.  This week's topic is SPRING CLEANING.  So see all Tips on Tuesdays posts, click on the red button in the left sidebar.  You can also grab the button for your blog if you like.

I'm glad you are all loving my before & after shots of the sewing room!  What a disaster it was.  The art supplies make the biggest mess.  I have beads and ribbon and embroidery floss and decorative yarns and buttons and lace and ...  you get the idea.  The problem was, if I need yellow embellishments, then I end up taking out all my supplies.  I got smart, and now all my yellow everything is in one clear box (with the exception of fabric).  My red embellishments are together in a box, all blue in another box, etc...  I do the same with fabric in bins.  I've folded the big pieces and bagged the scraps.

embellishments by color in boxes, fabric by color in bins.  easy.

My embellishments are divided into the following colors:

Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Purple, Orange, Black, White, Brown.

Yes, brown is a color in my world.  This system works really great for me.  For instance, if I'm doing snow in a scene, I'll take out the white box and from there I just look for the right texture or sheen.  Maybe beads, maybe angelina fibres, maybe dryer sheets.

I also found these two fabulous ideas for my thread.  #1 - big 12x12 clear flat stackable scrapbooking boxes for $6 from Michael's on sale:

I have four stackable boxes, and the lids lock shut.  love it.

Fabulous idea #2 - Marathon Incredible Tape.  I got it at Creative House Sewing & Embroidery Centre.  It's like window decal static-plastic on a roll.  That's the best I can describe it.  It's not sticky tape at all.  So now I'm wrapping my 197 spools of thread so they can lie in the boxes and not unravel.  Those rayons & metalic threads are the biggest culprits!  Now, I've got it all under control.  It's mobile too.  Awesome.

And what about you?  Do you have any Spring Cleaning stories to share?  I would love to hear them!  ; )

please share!  Links welcome.

~Monika

On Threadpainting

Yesterday was a weird day.  It was sunny, above zero, with icy wind and a gentle snow that never did hit the ground.  I took a nice long walk alone to the library to hear Jane Kenyon speak.  Jane is an internationally reknown fibre artist originally from Saskatoon, who now resides in B.C.  Jane thread paints very large pieces (up to 72") from very small photo-shopped photographs.  She works on heavy soluble with rayon and produces supple woven-like pieces.  In attendance were members of the Saskatoon Quilters' Guild as well as the Saskatoon Spinners & Weavers' Guild.

Jane Kenyon Art - Click Here

I enjoyed hearing her speak about her infatuation with photographing subjects for her fibre inspirations.  I remember hearing budding authors being told to "write what you know".  It's the same with art.  You need to really study your subjects and truly know them. "Sew what you know".  How true.

photo shoot this weekend

Some things I already knew about thread painting (use a topstitch needle, work on a grid like cheese cloth or stitch your own onto solvy).  Some things were new to me.  Eureeka!  She mentioned that she uses two threads in one needle while threadpainting.  The only time I've used 2 threads is to get the right effect or color while handstitching.  Cross-stitchers do that.  I hadn't thought of threading my rayon like that for machine sewing.  I definitely will try next time I'm working on a field...which won't be too long.

isn't rayon pretty?

Gosh.  I couldn't imagine working so big!  She had stitched six foot pieces.  She said some pieces take 3 to 8 weeks of daily 8hr/day sewing!  That's a woman who buys her needles by the box.

When I did the Rosehips on soluble, there was a lot of white fibre left behind after soaking it in a bath.  Jane mentioned how frustrated she was with that paper-like soluble product, and suggested the cellulose soluble (UltraSolvy) which looks like a thick sheet of clear plastic.  I will have to try that.  I wonder who sells it locally?  I know lots of fibre artists in the UK use it too (videos by Jan Beany & Jean Littlejohn for instance).

the stuff that doesn't work, though the cheesecloth is great.

Then I had a nice walk home in the middle of the afternoon.  The sun was very warm on my face.  I'm glad I went.  I've never taken a class or workshop in anything I do.  I couldn't help but wonder how my work will tranform after fifteen years of stitching.  Oh my, I smiled all the way home!

~Monika

Sunday Snapshots #33

This week I saw beautiful things at the Saskatoon Craft Guild's 70 Annual Display and Tea.  Check it out!

crochet

beautiful knitted mittens!

Petit point & cross stitch in action,  Look at that pattern sheet!!

Hardanger.  Something I REALLY want to learn.

My last photo is of a LOVELY spring day, right around supper time after a rain.  : )  

Aaaaahhh.  

Love the smell of the air at times like these!!

p.s.  Please leave a comment if you haven't before.  Simply go down to the bottom of this entry and you'll see the comment note.  Some people at guild mentioned they weren't sure how to post a comment.  Give it a try!  I made it easier and I would love to hear from you! ; )

Happy Sunday!
~Monika